Wednesday 24 July 2013

Sights: Bellarocca Island Resort - The Beautiful Rock

Inspired by the Santorini Island in Greece, the whole resort was built to look like it. From the Greek style designed structures and color white facade, it looked like a mini version of the real thing. I got so excited when I caught first glance of the island, the Italian name, Bellarocca which means beautiful rock perfectly suits how it looks.

Bellarocca Island Resort


When we reached the dock, the speedboat was waiting for us. We were handed towels to protect us from the splash as the speedboat made its way to the the island. The ride took less than 10 minutes.


Our Chauffeured Speedboat Ride

We were picked up by golf carts and made our way to the reception area. We were welcomed by the beautiful singing voices of the staff as garlands were hanged around our necks and welcome drinks was serve.

'Welcome' Song
Garland Around Our Necks and Welcome Drink

The resort's manager gave us a basic overview of the resorts rooms and facilities and told us that if we ever needed anything, he and the staff will attend to it. After settling down and freshening up, we were given a tour of the whole resort. Golf Carts are use to go around the resort, guests can always ask the staff to be escorted or to be picked up.

Golf Carts
One can pick from the different types of accommodations, from Casas, Terrazas, Villas and Hotel Rooms. All of the white colored Greek style rooms looked so pristine and beautiful. 













All of the rooms were beautifully designed, spacious, has comfortable beds, huge bathrooms with complimentary toiletries, a mini bar and is equipped with modern amenities, such as LCD TV with home theater system installed and complimentary internet connections are also available.

Living Rooms:








Bedrooms:







Bathrooms:








LCD TV with Home Theater System



The Villas are the way to go because on your private veranda, you'll have your own heated infinity pool, jacuzzi and comfy lounge chairs. How cool is that!







After checking out the different accommodations, we proceeded to visit the other facilities. The Meditation Sanctuary which can also double as a yoga area has that tranquil feeling as the cold breeze passes through the huge hall. Inside were big rattan chairs and table, its a perfect spot to relax and have some quiet 'me' time.

Meditation Sanctuary


The Spa Area had a feeling of exclusivity, there were only two massage areas and each area has only two massage tables. The Spa area even has it's own infinity pool, the place is perfect for couples who wants to be pampered and have privacy at the same time.

The Spa



There are two pools in the resort, the Lap Pool which is found inside the Hotel and the Seaside Lounge Pool near the Beach Area. It was really nice lounging around the Seaside Pool as it gives you a beautiful view of the ocean and Mt. Malindig.

Seaside Lounge Infinity Pool


Lounge Chairs at Pool

The Hotel Lap Pool reminded me of the swimming pools I saw in Bali, trees surround the pool and water was spouting out of the walls. I was a little disappointed when I took a swim at night and found out that the pool wasn't heated.

Hotel Lap Pool

The Fitness Gym has treadmills, weight machines and free weights. Guests can also enjoy playing a round of table tennis.

The Fitness Gym

One of my favorite places in the resort is the Library and Game Room. At the Game room guests can either play billiards or Foosball. There were also desktop computers which are also free to use.

Game Room

Inside the Library, there were some books , board games and DVDs which guest can borrow and watch it in their own respective rooms.

Library

Books, DVDs and Board Games

Borrowed Two DVDs to Watch

There is only one place to dine on the whole island, the restaurant is found inside the hotel. What's really nice is that guests can choose wherever they want to dine, inside their rooms, on the garden, roof deck or beach pavilion, the staff will gladly accommodate guest's requests.

Restaurant inside the Hotel

They offer set meals and different ala carte dishes, prices range from around 350php to 650php per dish and set meals for two cost Php1.5k++. The food is not something I would rave about, it tasted just ok. The quality was good but I felt that it needed fine tuning to improve the flavors.




We wanted to try out the different water activities, snorkeling, kayaking, wind surfing, banana boat, hobbie cat sailing and jetski. But because of the strong wind and drizzle of rain, the staff told us that the safest thing we can do was to snorkel. I made no objections and put on my booties that the staff lent me and headed over to the Beach.

Water Activities

There wasn't really much of a Beach Area on the resort, I was actually kind of disappointed to see how the Beach looked like. It just had a small patch of crushed white corals and sand. But as soon as I plunge into the deep waters, this all change.


Beach Area


The place was filled with so much marine life, beautiful corals and different colorful varieties of fish were all over. Easily one of the best snorkeling spots I've experienced.















As an added bonus, I was pleasantly surprised to see different species of birds. They were flying around and were perched on top of tress around the island.








Even saw a ray of light seeping out of the clouds and a full rainbow over the horizon





What made our stay extra special was the warm and attentive service we got from everybody. Service was impeccable, all our requests were granted and we even got more than we expected.

The Super Attentive Staff of Bellarocca

A resort with first class accommodations, amenities, service and at the same time preserving the beauty of nature. Bellarocca is truly a magnificent place to spend a vacation!  We packed our bags with heavy hearts wanting to spend another day or two or maybe three or four more days. It's a place that I won't mind going back again and again.



Bellarocca Island Resort
Resort Adress: Barangay Tungib - Lipata, Buenavista, Marinduque, Philippines
Website: www.bellaroccaresorts.com